In microprocessor design, it is not unusual for the designer of the chip to specify that certain functions are to be performed by the chip. The implementation of the specified functions is then left to another designer. Two such functions which are specified for some microprocessors are the square root function ‘sqrt(x)’ and the reciprocal square root function ‘1/sqrt(x)’. One microprocessor family for which these functions have been specified and implemented is the IBM PowerPC. Such a microprocessor is used in the IBM Blue Gene/L Supercomputer (“BG/L”). See [http://]www.ibm.com/chips/products.powerpc/newsletter/aug2001/new-prod3.html.
The reciprocal square root function is necessary in a number of calculations used in a variety of applications, however, it generally is used in connection with determining the direction of the vector between any two points in space. By way of example, such a function is used in calculating the direction and magnitude of the force between pairs of atoms when simulating the motion of protein molecules in water solution. The function is also used in calculating the best estimate of the rotation and shift between a pair of images of a triangle, i.e., where the triangle might be defined by 3 points picked out on a digital image, such as an image of a fingerprint; for the purpose of matching a ‘candidate’ fingerprint in a large set of ‘reference’ fingerprints.
While the reciprocal square root function may be implemented in a number of ways, there is no standard for its precision. The function should optimally return the double-precision floating point number nearest to the reciprocal of the square root of its argument ‘x’. Compare IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic (IEEE 754). ANSI/IEEE Std 754-1985, IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic, IEEE, New York, 1985. To arrive at such a result, however, requires significant computational resources such as processing time.
In most computational situations, however, it is sufficient to generate an approximation of the reciprocal square root of a number that is precise to some number of bits smaller than the standard fifty three (53) bits. Known implementations of the reciprocal square root function involve a trade-off between precision and computational resources, i.e., processing time.
There thus is a need for a method and system for calculating the reciprocal of a square root of a number that provides for both greater accuracy and greater precision without increasing the need for computing time and resources.